□ Why is it important to celebrate AAPI Heritage Month? I’m aiming to close the gap between the younger and older generations through modern Cambodian pop music infused with traditional music. I recently signed with a music label called KhmerLife Records. I now perform traditional Cambodian dance and model Cambodian attire. □ All through my childhood, my parents played Cambodian music early in the morning and would always have friends over on the weekend doing karaoke. □ How do you stay connected to Cambodian history and culture? I listen to them and treat them kindly so they won’t feel as if they are a number in a statistic. The best part about my job is communicating with our patients daily - reminding them about their medications and talking to them about their days or anything they feel like talking about. □ Growing up in an Asian household, I was always taught to treat our elders with respect. □ What about your upbringing shapes how you care for patients? Our lives started to improve, which was better than anything back at the refugee camp. We moved to Massachusetts when my father was able to land a job in Fall River at a soap manufacturing company. We slept on the floor in my uncle’s living room and could only afford to eat rice and eggs with soy sauce. □ My family first came to California from a refugee camp in Thailand. □ How did your family immigrate to the U.S. Vannara offers coordinated medication services to patients with asthma and diabetes, helping them manage their prescriptions better so they can stay as healthy as possible. In honor of Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month (AAPI), we are celebrating Vannara Chim, a pharmacy liaison at BMC. □ I encourage people to be curious about what our journey has been like and ask someone who is AAPI to share their story. □ How can readers learn more about the AAPI community this month? My hope is that we embrace our identity, feel whole, and support each other. The AAPI community is unique, diverse, and rich with a shared experience. □ As an Asian American woman and daughter of immigrants, I have recently evolved my own understanding of the meaning of being Asian American. □ What does it mean to you to be Asian American? I strive to make certain that my patients feel seen, heard, and cared for – no matter what their background is or what language they speak. That painful memory motivates and informs my practice today. Our extended family didn’t know how to communicate with the medical team, which led to misunderstandings and fear. □ My beloved grandmother struggled to navigate her cancer diagnosis in Boston as a non-speaking Chinese immigrant. □ What about your upbringing shapes how you care for patients? From a young age, I learned the value of hard work and the need to take advantage of a life my parents and grandparents worked so hard to secure. My parents came to Boston from Taiwan, looking for opportunities and a better life. □ Everything about my Chinese immigrant family of origin has shaped my career and who I am as a doctor. □ How has being Asian American inspired your career? Ko has had a lifelong interest in social justice and health equity and is known for considering each patient’s “whole person.” She explains how her Chinese immigrant heritage inspires her care philosophy at BMC. To celebrate Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month (AAPI), we spoke to Naomi Ko, MD, MPH, a medical oncologist at BMC specializing in the treatment of breast cancer.ĭr.
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